Russian Caliphate children: what awaits them after IS?

Russian Caliphate children: what awaits them after IS?

The terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS, earlier ISIL) (banned in Russia by the court), which managed to capture significant territories of Iraq and Syria in 2014-2016, since its appearance, had actively attracted militants from many countries, including Russia. In its heyday, the strength of the grouping exceeded 30,000 fighters 1, two-thirds of them being foreigners. Among militants from Russia, who went to fight for the IS*, many were from Northern Caucasus. They often took their families with them, not intending ever to come back. The main inflow of women and children to the territories controlled by the IS* was in 2015.

According to various estimates, hundreds or even thousands children from Dagestan, Chechnya and other regions of the Caucasus may still be in Iraq and Syria. Their life and health are in particular danger, after the ISIL* began suffering large-scale defeats in the summer of 2017. The issue of returning the children of perished militants from the warfare area is now very topical.

The "Caucasian Knot" tells why it is not easy to return militants' children to Russia, who is engaged in the process, and how many children they have already managed to return.

Why is it difficult to return children to Russia?

One of the obstacles is the absence on them of any documents confirming their Russian citizenship. Particularly this problem concerns Iraq, because in order to take children from there, a court judgement is needed, proving that the child is a citizen of Russia. In Syria, this issue is easier to solve, since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has allowed taking Russian citizens away without a court judgement 4.
Another problem is that mothers returning to Russia with their children often face a risk of criminal prosecution for participating in illegal armed formations (IAFs) in the territory of a foreign state.

For example, three women from Dagestan, who were brought to Grozny by a special flight in a group of rescued women and children from Syria, were almost immediately detained by law enforcers. As it turned out, the women had been on the wanted list 5.

Who deals with the return?

A hotline was launched to collect information about Russian children in Iraq and Syria: +7 (495) 221-70-65.

The Chechen government and the clergy of Chechnya are actively engaged in the return of militants' children, especially the plenipotentiary of the head of Chechnya in Middle East and North Africa, Senator Ziyad Sabsabi, who personally met the Iraqi and Syrian authorities. All the related expenses are born by the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation 6.

On August 13, 2017, more than 50 women marched in Grozny, urging the Chechen leadership to help in returning children from the territories of Iraq and Syria.

Apart from the Chechen government, Anna Kuznetsova, the Russian Children's Ombudsperson, is also involved in returning children; in August this year, she reported that a database had been gathered with hundreds of family names and contact details of children in Syria and Iraq, who might need help.

"There, of course, the entire territory of the Russian Federation is present... The overwhelming majority refers to residents of Chechnya and Dagestan. Today, the Dagestani list contains more than 200 people... According to unofficial data, there are many more of them there," Ms Kuznetsova said in August after a sitting on the problem of returning children 7.

Also, the parties to the negotiation process are the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the federal commission for the return of children from warfare areas, representatives of Dagestan, and Ambassadors of Syria and Iraq. Besides, members of the Chechen Diaspora in Jordan, who work in cooperation with the Red Crescent Society, are helping to return Chechen children from Iraq 8.

How many children have returned and how many still remain there?

Bilal Taghirov whose father took him to Syria. Photo: screenshot of a video posted on Ramzan Kadyrov’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BXS2Y-qn0jJ/
By mid-September, it became known that at least 445 minor Russians remained in the warfare areas in Syria and Iraq; over a hundred of them are under the age of three 9.

In October-November, 43 children were returned to Russia from Syria 10 They are brought in small groups. Hundreds of Russian children still, perhaps, remain in the warfare areas.

The "Caucasian Knot" has collected detailed information about the militants from the Caucasus, fighting in Syria and Iraq for jihadists, in its analytical material "Caucasians in the ranks of IS*". It tells about how many people from the Caucasus had left for the IS*; how they got there, and what expected those, who tried to return. Also, the material presents stories about well-known Caucasian commanders in the IS*, and how ISIL* cells operate in the Caucasus as such. Besides, little-known information about the ISIL*, narrated by a witness, who had been in the ranks of the IS*, and got disappointed, can be learned from the interview "Travel to the Islamic State* and back".

Fresh materials about the influence of the war in the Middle East on the situation in the regions of the Caucasus are published by the "Caucasian Knot" on its topical page "Caucasus held at gunpoint by Caliphate".

Notes:

1. ISIS can 'muster' between 20,000 and 31,000 fighters, CIA says // CNN, 12/09/2014.

2. ISIS By The Numbers: Foreign Fighter Total Keeps Growing // NBC News, 02/28/2015.

3. BEYOND THE CALIPHATE: Foreign Fighters and the Threat of Returnees. The Soufan Center. October 2017. P. 5.

4. Seven women and 14 children brought to Grozny by special flight from Syria // TASS, October 21, 2017.

5. Member of HRC under head of Chechnya: three women brought by special flight from Syria detained in Dagestan // TASS, November 14, 2017.

6. Eight children and four women brought to Grozny from Iraq and Syria // TASS, September 1, 2017.

7. Kuznetsova told from what Russian regions children are brought to Syria and Iraq // RIA "Novosti", August 15, 2017.

8. Chechen girl found in Iraq identified // "Caucasian Knot", 02.08.2017.

9. Russia launches hot line for children's return from Iraq and Syria // NTV, 18.10.2017.

10. Forty-three Russian children returned from Syria within six weeks // TASS, November 17, 2017.

Northern Caucasus natives put on Belgian list of suspected terrorists.

Natives of Northern Caucasus put on Belgian list of suspected terrorists. (Caucasian knot).

The Belgian secret services have compiled a list of suspected terrorists, which included 614 people. Of them, 29 are citizens of Russia, the edition "Knack" reports.

According to it, the number of Russian citizens mostly includes natives of the North-Caucasian republics, who have connections with the terrorist organization "Imarat Kavkaz" banned in Russia by court.

Most of the suspected terrorists included in the list compiled by the coordination center for the analysis of threat (OCAD), are citizens of Belgium, and other 119 people are of foreign nationality.

The number of suspects includes 29 citizens of Russian, 39 of Morocco, 16 of France, 13 – of Algeria, 7 of the Netherlands, 6 of Italy, 3 of Syria, 3 of Tunisia, and 2 of Macedonia.

While speaking of Russian citizens in the list, the OCAD experts have pointed out that they are mainly natives of Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia, who were members of or supported the terrorist organization "Imarat Kavkaz" banned in Russia by court.

In Belgium, according to the OCAD experts, the suspects may be engaged in propaganda and involved in the financing of militants.

According to the Belgian secret services, 266 people from the list of suspected terrorists are now in Syria or Iraq, and other 114 people have already returned from the zones of combat actions, reports an article published on the website of the edition "Knack" on August 31.


Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Caucasians in the ranks of Islamic State (ISIL).

Caucasians in the ranks of Islamic State (ISIL). (CaucasianKnot).

Different sources, including the Russia's FSB, have confirmed the information that militants from Russia are fighting for the Islamic State (IS) (earlier – the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – ISIL), a self-proclaimed entity in the territory of Syria and Iraq. The material of the "Caucasian Knot" below tells about penetration of natives of the Caucasus into the conflict zone and provides estimates of the number of them.

"Islamic State": overview

The organization "Islamic State" was created on October 15, 2006, as a result of the merger of 11 radical Sunni groupings. At the same time, they adopted a draft "Constitution" entitled "Notice to Mankind about Birth of Islamic State". Until 2013, its name was "Islamic State of Iraq" (ISI). The organization set a target to capture the Sunni part of Iraq and turn it into a militarized Islamic Sunni state, as soon as the forces of the international coalition led by the USA, left Iraq.

On April 9, 2013, the grouping named "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) was formed with the aim to establish an Islamic Emirate in the territory of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. The Levant is a historical region in the eastern Mediterranean, which covers the territory of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Turkey and Cyprus.

Starting June 2014, ISIL launched an attack on several areas of Northern Iraq by organizing a large-scale offensive in Sunni provinces. By October 2014, ISIL occupied one-third of Iraq.

The terrorist organization is made up of the militants who once fought against US forces during their stay in Iraq, and against the forces of the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

By September 2014, according to the estimates of the CIA (US Central Intelligence Agency), the membership of the grouping reached some 20,000-31,500 persons. The IS troops include Mujahideens from 80 countries, including France, UK, Germany, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, USA, Canada and Russia.

Since the moment of its inception, ISIL has been closely connected with the international terrorist network "Al-Qaeda", but in February 2014 the latter declared a break-off with the "Islamic State". The reason for the split was in the quarrel of the ISIL with the official branch of "Al-Qaeda" in Syria named "Djabkhat an-Nusra".

In late June 2014, the grouping changed its name and became known as just the "Islamic State". The establishment of Caliphate was proclaimed led by militants' leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Abdullah Ibragim as-Samarai).

The "Islamic State" has been recognized as a terrorist organization by Australia, UK, Indonesia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, USA, Turkey and other countries.

On September 8, 2014, the grouping "Islamic State" was recognized as a terrorist organization by the League of Arab States. Besides, the "Islamic State" is subject to international sanctions in accordance with Resolutions of the UN Security Council passed against "Al-Qaeda" and its affiliated organizations.

Gennady Gatilov, a Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, in one of his speeches has treated the ISIL as an "extremist" organization involved in "terrorist activities".

On September 3, 2014, supporters of the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" distributed the video record, in which they accused Russia of supplying weapons to Bashar al-Assad and threatened to start a war in the Caucasus.

Islamic State and natives of the Caucasus

How many natives of the Caucasus fight for "Islamic State"?

In June 2013, Russian authorities admitted the participation of citizens of the Russian Federation in the conflict. The Russia's FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov expressed concern about the fact that some 200 militants from Russia were fighting for jihadists in Syria. The Chechen leadership also admitted that residents of the republic were taking part in the war in Syria. It was reported that from a few hundreds up to 1700 natives of Chechnya were at war in the region.

In September 2013, it became known that militants from Northern Caucasus formed a military unit named "Al-Mukhadjirin" (immigrants) in the city of Aleppo in Northern Syria. It was headed by a Chechen named Abu Abdurakhman. Most members of the unit had experience of fighting in the Caucasus.

In July 2014, Sergey Kamenny, the head of the FSB in Kabardino-Balkaria, said that more than 60 citizens of his republic were among the international terrorist groupings operating in Syria.

On September 3, 2014, supporters of the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" spread a video with a threat to start a war in the Caucasus and "liberate the Caucasus by the mercy of Allah."

According to Sergey Smirnov, First Deputy Director of the FSB, some 300-400 mercenaries from Russia, now involved in the Syrian conflict, may come back to Russia.

According to Abu Umar al-Shishani, a field commander of Chechen origin, "500 Caucasians, who had fought against Bashar al-Assad in Syria, were killed." The al-Shishani's grouping, which is at war under the banner of the ISIL, has between 700 and 1000 members; among them there are several hundreds of Caucasians.


It is noteworthy that the authors of the information-analytical bulletin prepared by the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" report that the drop in the number of victims of the conflict in Northern Caucasus, noticed in 2014, was associated with the fact that part of radicals went to Syria. Read the full story here.